A floating rate note (FRN) is a form of security, invented in the euromarkets and adopted elsewhere, that carries a variable interest rate which is adjusted regularly (at one to six-monthly intervals - whatever is preferred by the issuer) by a margin against a benchmark rate such as LIBOR (the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate of Interest).
Issued for three years or longer, FRNs are popular during periods of increased volatility in interest rates, when lenders may be reluctant to lend funds cheaply at a fixed period for a fixed rate.
For example, the issuer might agree that their FRN will pay 50 basis points (0.5%) over the rate of LIBOR. So if LIBOR was 6% over a six-month period (it is usually worked out as an average), the FRN would pay 6% plus the 0.5% spread, or 6.5% in total over the next six months.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
A straight, or 'vanilla', eurobond would carry a fixed rate of interest regardless of LIBOR. One variation is an inverse FRN. Interest payments on these rise as interest rates fall, and vice versa.
-
8 of the best houses for sale for around £500,000Some of the best houses for sale for around £500,000 – from a 19th-century stone farm cottage in North Yorkshire and a two-bedroom apartment in Edinburgh’s New Town to a converted Methodist chapel in Norfolk
-
What will the unravelling of US-China trade mean for the economy?What will a US-China decoupling mean for the global economy?
